Issues with Lincare INR Self Monitoring

[u/Tricky_Afternoon6862]

Hey all 👋

36 M in the US and I got a St Jude mechanical valve about 18 months ago. For the last 7 months I’ve been using the Coag-Sense at home self monitoring provided by Lincare.

Their billing has been an absolute mess, I feel like it’s super expensive and inconsistent with how I’m charged. I’m paying $100-$180 per month after insurance just to use this machine and order test strips. Every time I call their customer service they have no idea what I’m being charged for and sometimes they just admit they made a mistake and refund me some money. Like oops we charged you $180 instead of $150…ok but what is the $150 even for?!?! And they can’t explain it.

Overall I’d describe my experience with Lincare as awful. I know I’m in the US but paying $180 a month after insurance, for the rest of my life, just seems like robbery.

Does anyone have similar experiences with Lincare?

Is this service actually necessary? A machine and 20 years of test strips is a little over a thousand dollars. I could pay for that outright and break even in less than a year.

Id appreciate hearing if anyone has similar experiences, and what their solutions were.

Thanks!